Capturing the world through photography, video and multimedia

NATO helicopters hover as smoke rises in the background at the hotel where Taliban insurgents attacked on the outskirts of Kabul. The Taliban said they were targeting elite Afghans and foreigners who use the area for "wild parties" before Friday prayers.

Thousands of supporters of Muslim Brotherhood presidential candidate Mohamed Morsi gather in Cairo's landmark Tahrir Square to denounce a power grab by the ruling military, as the nation nervously awaited the results of the first post-Mubarak presidential election.

The coffins bearing the bodies of six children who died in a house fire are carried out of St Mary's Church after a funeral service. Mick and Mairead Philpott have been charged with the murders of their children Duwayne 13, Jade, 10, John, 9, Jack 8, Jesse, 6, and Jayden, 5.

More than 11,000 people protested against the restart of a nuclear power plant around the premier's official residence and Parliament after Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda decided to restart two nuclear reactors at the Oi nuclear power plant in western Japan.

Airlie Dodds, wearing a First World War nurse's uniform, walks through a display of 110 canvas army tents. The installation is to promote the exhibition "Nurses : From Zululand to Afghanistan" on display at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra.

Young performers in traditional costume prepare to go on stage during the opening ceremony of the Duanwu festival, also known as the Dragon Boat Festival, held at the Shunyi Olympic Rowing-Canoeing Park on the outskirts of Beijing. The festival is celebrated on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month, and has been an official holiday in mainland China since 2008, celebrated for three consecutive days.

Fire officials evacuate employees after the headquarters of the Maharashtra state government caught fire in Mumbai, India on Thursday. Hundreds of employees were evacuated from a seven-story government building as more than two dozen fire engines battled a major fire that raged for more than three hours in India's financial and entertainment capital.

Youths walk along a rice field where an Indonesian air force plane crashed in Jakarta on Thursday. The Fokker F-27 turboprop slammed into homes and ignited a fireball in the crowded capital while trying to land, killing at least nine people, a military official said.

Some of the 150-member Castellers de Vilafranca build another tower configuration after their attempt at a new world record by building the first eight-level human tower or castell ever assembled on a rooftop, in New York City. The performance, which will also include the building of several other towers in different configurations on 230 Fifth Avenue's roof deck, will inaugurate a series of free public castell buildings throughout New York City through Sunday in honor of the rebuilding of the World Trade Center complex.

Rain-sodden crowds welcomed a spectacularly rainy summer solstice at Stonehenge in true British fashion on Thursday: With stoicism and wit. But through the wind and rain, drummers inside the ancient stone circle kept up their thumping rhythm, new-age pagans kept up their chaotic dance, and visitors kept up their sense of humor.

Devotees throng around chariots as they wait to pull them during the annual Hindu festival Rath Yatra, or chariot procession, at Puri, India. The annual procession of the three idols of Jagannath, Balabhadra and Subhadra is taken out in specially made chariots called raths, which are pulled by thousands of devotees.

A Nepalese Buddhist monk walks past prayer flags at the Boudhanath Stupa in Katmandu. The Boudhanath Stupa, which was declared a world heritage site by UNESCO in 1979, is situated on the eastern side of Katmandu and is one of the largest in the world.

International military bands line up as the national flag of China, left, rises alongside the Hong Kong flag, right, during the rehearsal for the International Military Tattoo in Hong Kong. The Tattoo runs through Sunday in celebration of the 15th anniversary of the establishment of the Hong Kong special administrative region.

Gentoo penguins mark the first anniversary of the opening of their Antarctic-themed enclosure at the Sea Life Aquarium. A big ice cake made of frozen fish and a bubble machine added to the festivities.

A toddy tapper crosses a rope between two coconut trees to collect sap to make palm wine, or toddy as it is locally known. Toddy is a popular local beverage made by fermenting the sap collected from coconut trees.

Mohammad Rafique, a Rohingya Muslim from Myanmar, center, begs a Bangladesh coast guard official not to send his family back to Myanmar. Rafique's wife, Amina Akhtar, gave birth to a son they have named Sangram at St. Martin island in Bangladesh after they fled ethnic violence between Buddhists and minority Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar a few days back.

Soldiers sit behind a gate barring entry to the Egyptian Parliament. The campaign of an Islamist who claimed victory in Egypt's presidential runoff says the Muslim Brotherhood and other political groups plan a mass demonstration later Tuesday to protest a military declaration seeking to curtail the powers of the next president.

Afghan women and their children at the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees registration center on the outskirts of Peshawar as they prepare to return to their home country after fleeing civil war and Taliban rule. About 20% of the population in Afghanistan are refugees. Of those abroad, there are 1.7 million Afghans in Pakistan and 1 million in Iran.

Tahir Ali of Pakistan fails to stop a goal by Ali Mohamed of Qatar during their men's beach handball match, which Qatar won 2-0 at the 3rd Asian Beach Games. As London prepares to welcome the world's top athletes at the Olympics, this little-known Chinese seaside town is hosting the champions of some rather more obscure sports at the Asian Beach Games. More than 2,000 athletes are competing in sports such as beach sepaktakraw, a cross between volleyball and soccer; and beach kabaddi, a highly physical mix of tag and wrestling.

An Indian laborer welds iron as and others make a temporary pontoon bridge across the River Ganges for the upcoming Maha Kumbh festival. Millions of Hindu pilgrims are expected to arrive for the festival held once every 12 years and scheduled to begin Jan. 14, 2013.

A young woman struggles to control her umbrella against strong winds generated by typhoon Guchol, which made landfall in western Japan earlier in the day and is heading northeast across eastern and northern Japan. Flights and train service were disrupted, and evacuation orders were issued for more than 120,000 people across the country.

Supporters of Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood candidate Mohamed Morsi celebrate in Tahrir Square after the Brotherhood claimed victory in the presidential vote. The Brotherhood reported on its website that its candidate won 52% of the vote in weekend elections, with ballots at 95% of the polling stations counted.

Sugarloaf Mountain is silhouetted against the early-morning skies as the sun begins to rise in Rio de Janeiro, the host city for the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development. The Earth summit runs through Friday, with final days of high-profile talks among some 130 leaders from nations around the globe.

A Spanish coal miner holds a tire next to a burning barricade near Santiago mine in Caborana. Spanish miners are staging a general strike in all mining regions of Spain organized by unions opposed to subsidy reductions.

A Filipino Catholic couple take a photo of themselves with a smartphone during a mass wedding ceremony at a university chapel in Manila. Around 35 couples tied the knot at the Most Blessed Sacrament Chapel, as part of activities for the De la Salle University centennial in the Philippines.

Supporters from the opposition Nepali Congress party shout slogans during a protest in Katmandu. Hundreds of protesters, demanding Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai's resignation gathered outside the Tribhuwan International Airport in Katmandu and attempted to block his motorcade. Bhattarai is leaving Nepal on Monday for a conference in Brazil.

Indians collect water from a government tanker at a slum in New Delhi. An unprecedented water crisis loomed large over the national capital as neighboring Haryana state has drastically cut water supply, leaving acute shortages.

An Israeli soldier directs a tank maneuvering near the border between Israel and Egypt. Unidentified militants crossed from Egypt's turbulent Sinai Peninsula into southern Israel on Monday, opening light arms and anti-tank fire on civilians building a security fence meant to fortify the porous border, defense officials said. One of the Israeli workers was killed and two militants were gunned down by troops responding to the attack, the officials said.

A Palestinian man inspects the debris of a destroyed motorcycle after an Israeli airstrike in Beit Hanoun. Militants crossed from Egypt's turbulent Sinai Peninsula into southern Israel on Monday and opened fire on civilians building a border security fence, defense officials said. Several hours after the attack, an Israeli airstrike killed two men riding a motorcycle in the northern Gaza Strip near the Israeli border.

Seagulls fly near Bass Rock, Scotland, where gannets nest in the Firth of Forth in Dunbar. Every January, Atlantic gannets return to Bass Rock, with 150,000 or more making it the largest single rock gannet colony. They return with the same mate and often use the same nest each year, spending most of the year on the Rock before they leave at the end of October, when the last of the chicks travel down to the West Coast of Africa.

The Week in Pictures | June 18-24, 2012

In Afghanistan, a bloody 11-hour siege of a lakeside resort outside Kabul ended Friday when police killed the last of a four-member team of Taliban assailants. Seventeen hotel guests and workers, as well as one police officer, also died in the attack, according to the Interior Ministry.

Thousands of supporters of Muslim Brotherhood presidential candidate Mohamed Morsi gathered in Cairo’s landmark Tahrir Square to denounce a power grab by the ruling military as the nation nervously awaited the results of the first post-Mubarak presidential election.

Coffins bearing the bodies of six children who died in a house fire are carried out of St. Mary’s Church in England after a funeral service. The parents have been charged with the murders of their children Duwayne 13, Jade, 10, John, 9, Jack, 8, Jesse, 6, and Jayden, 5. In London, placards supporting Julian Assange are shown outside Ecuador’s embassy where the Wikileaks founder has sought political asylum. Assange remains inside the Ecuadorean Embassy after three nights.

In Brazil, Sugarloaf Mountain is silhouetted against the early-morning skies as the sun begins to rise in Rio de Janeiro, the host city for the U.N. Conference on Sustainable Development. The Earth summit gathered about 130 top leaders from nations around the globe.

Conflict in the Middle East is illustrated by an Israeli soldier directing tank maneuvers near the border between Israel and Egypt. Unidentified militants crossed from Egypt’s turbulent Sinai Peninsula into southern Israel on Monday, opening light arms and anti-tank fire on civilians building a security fence meant to fortify the porous border, defense officials said. One of the Israeli workers was killed, and two militants were gunned down by troops responding to the attack

Elsewhere, a Croatian soccer fan cheers for his team in the old town of Gdansk, Poland; 35 Filipino Catholic couples take part in a mass wedding ceremony at a university chapel in Manila; and Indians collect water from a government tanker at a slum in New Delhi as an unprecedented water crisis loomed large over the national capital.